Lithuania 2050: four possible scenarios for the country have been defined, and experts will deepen them in thematic discussions
Preparatory work for the State Progress Strategy Lithuania 2050 continues. Six discussions will take place in Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipeda in May and June, and experts from various fields will discuss possible topics for Lithuania’s future scenario important for the country’s development: security, society, education (science, technology), economics, climate change, and governance. The first debate, which will take place on 16 May. At Vilnius University (VU), experts will talk about the future security perspective of the state, its significance in the region and the international environment.
In March, in the workshop for the preparation of future scenarios organized by the Center for Strategic Analysis of Lithuania and the Government (STRATA), experts from various fields, representatives of science, business, culture and society defined the outlines of four main possible future scenarios for Lithuania. Each of these scenarios also reflects six thematic dimensions that are important for the further development of the country over the next few decades, and which are further analyzed by experts on a specific topic.
The future security prospects of the state will be discussed
May 16 VU together with STRATA is organizing the first discussion on the global perspective of security and the future of Lithuania. According to Justinas Mickus, STRATA policy analyst, coordinator of the security discussion, the dimension of international politics and security is one of the most important ways of thinking about Lithuania’s future and shaping possible scenarios for Lithuania’s development until 2050.
“Growing tensions between democracies and autocracies, accelerating systemic competition between the West and China, Russia’s war in Ukraine and aggressive activity in Africa, the erosion of democracy in the United States and Europe are among the most prominent trends shaping today’s international system,” Mickus said.
According to security experts, the war launched by Russia in Ukraine fundamentally changes the post-Cold War European security architecture and will have long-term consequences for international security policy. Uncertainty about the future and the growing global influence of China.
“Although Lithuania’s security will continue to be inseparable from the collective security of NATO and the EU in the future, these Western political structures are likely to respond similarly strangely to current and future challenges,” says Mickus. – In maneuvering between these challenges, Lithuania will have to develop an active, inventive, efficient, sustainable and “valuable pragmatic” foreign and security policy. So the important question is: what can and should be Lithuania’s geopolitical strategy to achieve prosperity in the era of what is already called the “end of history” today? “
The discussion is planned to analyze what Russia’s relations can do in the next few decades, how to ensure productive cooperation between the United States and the EU and the complementarity of NATO and the EU, as well as the Lithuanian vision of how Lithuania should support fragile democracies. The experts will discuss how new relations will change international relations and security, what new opportunities in foreign and security policy will open up for Lithuania on climate change, energy transformation and environmental issues.
In the discussion, the Rector of Vilnius University Prof. Rimvydas Petrauskas, Chairman of the Future Committee of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania prof. Raimundas Lopata. The introductory speech will be given by the lecturer of VU Institute of International Relations and Political Science (TSPMI) dr. Marijušas Antonovičius. Albinas Januška, signatory of the Lithuanian Act of Independence, Andrius Kubilius, Member of the European Parliament, Head of the ICONS Project, participates in the expert discussion. researcher at the University of Maryland (USA) Eglė Murauskaitė, VU TSPMI professor Ainė Ramonaitė, VU TSPMI director dr. Margarita Šešelgytė. Discussion moderator – VU TSPMI lecturer Vytis Jurkonis.
The event will take place on May 16th. from 3 p.m. In the Small Hall of Vilnius University (Universiteto str. 3, Vilnius). The broadcast of the expert discussion can be watched by the Government Chancellery, Vilnius University’s social network Facebook. The discussion will also be broadcast on the LRT.lt portal.
The National Progress Strategy “Lithuania 2050” is being prepared using innovative approach to foresight. The duration of the planned strategy is more than twenty years (from 2024 to 2050). It is planned to submit the project to the Seimas by 2023. March 10 The Lithuania 2050 Strategy is being prepared by the Government Chancellery in cooperation with the Seimas Future Committee, STRATA and Vilnius University.